Is everybody making just a little too much out of Jonas Gustavsson?

OK, it’s gone a little too far I think. Jonas Gustavsson “The Monster”, the Swedish goalie who has yet to play a second of NHL hockey and is 24 years old, is being treated like the hybrid genetic offspring of Jacques Plante, Patrick Roy and Glenn Hall put together.

The wining and dining. The tours of the city. Recruitment phone calls from past legendary players.
Enough already.
As I stated above, Gustavsson has yet to play ONE SECOND OF NHL HOCKEY YET. The Swedish Elite League is a fine league and all, but it ain’t the NHL. Not by a longshot.

He had a great year IN THE SWEDISH ELITE LEAGUE. The fact is, nobody has any idea how he’s going to be in the NHL. History is littered with guys who were supposed to be the Next Big Thing in goaltending, and a couple years later they’re selling shoes in a strip mall.

And if the guy is/was so good, why was he never drafted by an NHL team?

Listen, the guy really could be the next great NHL goalie. But all this fuss – with the Avs recruiting Peter Forsberg and the Maple Leafs doing the same with Borje Salming, in trying to sweet talk Gustavsson into signing with their old teams – well, it’s getting a little ridiculous now.

Let’s wait ’til the guy has actually, you know, done something before we start hyperventilating about him.